WANDA’s Post

This ad from Toronto based Agency Broken Heart Love Affair should be the textbook definition of the phrase ‘Brand building’. There is so much to learn from this ad about external communications. It’s a shot across the bow of businesses and brands that all too often harbour the desire to centre all their marketing efforts around their products, and USP’s, in their marketing comms. So what can you take from the Kruger Products | Produits Kruger ad? We should take a moment to think of the product group (paper towel) and its place in the market, the competitors and what they do, and how the industry standard of Direct Response Ads (DRTV) is ubiquitous with the product group. You have seen those ads a thousand times and this is a stark departure from the industry standard. There is no mention of spills, durability, cost, or size. There are no demonstrations of usability, or illustrated graphics of locked up fluids, this Ad is pure emotion. Because of that, it is a platform to show the products true value, its versatility, and utility in a meaningful way. The scenes are fast and furious, blink and you'll miss it sets ups for quick pay offs. Each cut is clear and understandable. The ease at which the products are woven seamlessly into the narrative, up front, hidden in plain sight, only add to the reality and self awareness of the brands understanding of its place in the customers life. Each vignette speaks clearly through the emotion of each performance (why good actors are important). There is a trick at play here, a clever story telling fundamental: your viewer doesn't need to have experienced the situation you are presenting, or look like the person experiencing it, to see themselves, or someone they know in the narrative you present. Have you ever caught yourself watching a period drama and imagining yourself in the place depicted? Asking yourself how you would have looked in the clothes or how you'd deal with the candle lit nights by the fire? As a viewer, and a human, not just a consumer, we can see ourselves, our kids, our parents in stories. We can feel the nostalgia, hope, regret, and happiness, all while also building an affinity with the message, and by proxy, the brand. So the question is: How do you market your product or service? Do you err on the side of caution by sticking to the industry norms and try to tell people how great it is? Do you list the benefits or USPs? Do you cut the prices? Shorten the windows of opportunity? Do you chase the immediate sale? Or… do you take a leaf out of the Kruger playbook, and take a moment to be honest about your product and services. Do you place it honestly in stories, with real people, living real lives? Will you connect with the audience, regardless if they are in the market to buy your product or not? Do you take the opportunity to build and inspire feelings that will be forever linked with your product in the eyes of the viewer? Perhaps a mix of both. Love (and Advertising) is messy.

The Power of Commercial Filmmaking: Why Brands Must Tell Their Story In today's crowded marketplace, brands must do more than just showcase their products. Consumers want to understand the "why" behind a brand, and commercial films is the perfect tool to tell that story. Emotional Connection: Commercial films build emotional connections by telling compelling stories. Brands like Nike and Coca-Cola use storytelling to create ads that resonate on a personal level, making them memorable. Trust and Credibility: Authenticity is key in building trust. Behind-the-scenes footage and customer testimonials in commercial films highlight your brand’s values, establishing credibility with your audience. Brand Recall: Visual storytelling enhances brand recall. Cinematic techniques create memorable, emotionally engaging films. Brands like Apple and BMW use this to make a lasting impression. Engagement and Conversions: Commercial films drive engagement and conversions. Strategic distribution on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn maximizes reach and encourages interaction. Investing in your brand's story through commercial filmmaking is not just a marketing move—it's a way to connect deeply with your audience, build trust, and drive engagement. Let’s create something extraordinary together.

WHAT IS THE PRE PRODUCTION PROCESS IN VIDEO PRODUCTION AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT? This crucial planning and preparation stage set the tone for your video production journey, ensuring a smooth and successful process. Explore the key elements of pre-production with us: 1. Concept Development: Define your video's concept and message. We engage in brainstorming sessions, script development, and establishing the desired tone, style, and purpose of your video. 2. Scriptwriting: Craft a compelling storyline, write engaging dialogues, and structure the flow of your video. Our scriptwriting process brings your narrative to life. 3. Storyboarding: Visualize your concept through storyboards – a sequence of illustrations or sketches that guide our production team, ensuring a cohesive and visually stunning final product. 4. Casting and Talent Selection: Select the perfect talent to bring your vision to life. Our pre-production process includes auditioning, selecting, and finalizing actors, presenters, or spokespersons based on their suitability for your roles. 5. Location Scouting: Identify and secure the ideal shooting locations. Our experts visit potential sites, assess suitability, obtain necessary permits, and plan logistics for seamless filming. 6. Scheduling: Efficiency is key! We create a production schedule to ensure all necessary resources – crew, equipment, talent, and locations – are available when needed, maximizing production timelines. 7. Budgeting: Plan your project's budget during pre-production, estimating costs for crew, equipment, talent, locations, props, and post-production. Effective budgeting ensures optimal resource allocation. 8. Equipment and Crew Planning: Decide on the equipment needed for filming and assemble a skilled crew during pre-production. From directors to cinematographers, we bring together the right team for your project. 9. Production Design: Define the visual look and feel of your video. Our pre-production process covers art direction, set design, props, costumes, and makeup, ensuring aesthetics align with your concept. 10. Logistics and Permits: Arrange logistics such as transportation, accommodation, and catering. Our experts also secure permits, insurance, and legal clearances for filming in specific locations. At MGV Productions, pre-production is an immersive experience where creativity meets meticulous planning, ensuring your video production journey begins on a solid foundation. Crafting Excellence in Post-Production with MGV Productions Post-production at www.mgvp.co.uk is where your vision transforms into a polished masterpiece. Discover the key elements that shape the final look, sound, and impact of your video: Gavin Sheppard #contentcreator #pr #collaboration #content #creator #influencers #womanownedbusiness #sponsored #brandambassador #creatives #digitalmarketingagency

Oh, hey 👋 I’ve connected with a lot of new faces over the last couple months so thought it might be a good idea to introduce myself afresh. I’m Lauren, Art Director, colour-lover, big laugher and coffee-loving mum of two teacup humans (Gen Alpha insights pending 💁♀️). Work stuff I love; 🦄Working AdLand magic, whether that’s rustling up big ideas and leading pitches, or scripting with copy pals (or on my lonesome) and executing those creative sparks through to rollout with precision. ✨Moodboarding, concepting, developing the Art direction for shoots (stills & motion, but honestly, moving image has my HEART) 🙏Combining cultural insight with creative ideas that pull audiences up by their sneaker laces 🤝Making an idea work really hard, thinking deeply about what kind of creative treatment will be engaging on different mediums and planning for it. (Not just cutting up the same video 50x 🙃). ☯️Working suuuper closely with producers (the yin to my yang!) on crewing, casting, scheduling, and sourcing locations 🎬Directing on shoots, being part of huge crews and tiny crews, making relationships with everyone on set and working together as a TEAM to get the shots in the proverbial bag. Wrapped up with a bow. (strong teams on set are the best vibe⚡) Tell me work stuff YOU love ⬇️ 🦄 one-stop-creative-shop ᐧ art direction ᐧ campaign concepting ᐧ video direction ᐧ film shoots ᐧ stills shoots ᐧ post-production direction ᐧ design ᐧ pitching ᐧ 2D ᐧ 3D ᐧ live action ᐧ team management & development ✌️

We're in the process of onboarding and working with a new hospitality client and it's made me think more about how we develop videos. Apart from the marketing aspects, there are a lot more technical elements going on behind the scenes. Maybe more than you think. 📃 First, we develop scripts and storyboards. Even for corporate videos, interview-style content and commercials, we map out all the narrative and visual elements. I'm that person scribbling a million notes and communicating it to the storyboard artist and/or director of photography to design the story flow. The more we plan out during this stage the more the narrative flows before filming. 🏚 My least favourite part, location scouting. We need to hunt for the perfect backdrop. It needs to fit the content of the video and we need to consider lighting, acoustics, and space. Do we have enough space for the required lighting and camera set-ups? 👨🏭 Leading up to the shoot, we set up a test shoot. We play with angles and lighting to get the technical stuff on point before we get on set. Time is money so these details need to be worked out beforehand. 🎥 Production - my favourite part! This is when all the planning comes to life and we get on set. I love working with the client and the whole team to capture shots that align with the storyboard vision. 🖥 And then post-production. The editing suite is where we add some magic. The team reviews footage, combines shots and sequences with graphics, music, colour correction, etc. Editing allows us to refine pacing, tone and impact. You've probably heard me say "candid but planned" before. It captures that blend of planning and spontaneity that excites me. When we capture natural laughing, they aren't by chance. We meticulously plan shots and cues to elicit authentic reactions. But it must feel real, not staged - like in the picture with the fantastic Saracens rugby players. There's art in orchestrating organic moments. We may have a scripted laugh, but can't force the emotion itself. A big part of our job is setting up an environment where everyone in front of the camera can have that genuine moment. The more we pre-plan, the more relaxed we can be on set, which helps create the atmosphere we need. Blending planning and authenticity separates good visual storytelling from great - at least in my opinion. I find it endlessly fascinating how those behind-the-scenes elements come together to create that feeling of effortless magic! #videoproduction #videoproducer #videocontent

What if motion based production companies had separate units distinguished by the deliverable platform, and were unified as a cohesive vision under a creative director with a motion background? I know this is already implemented in various forms, but it’s usually on larger teams not focused on the actual video creation. This would only be possible for a large scale high volume company, but I think the results would be worth it. Each unit would have staff ranging from producers, editors, animators, art directors, etc. The three segments that I see in the industry right now are film, video, and social. The way people think, what inspires them etc in these three segments is fundamentally different. Film: Broadcast commercials, big brand statement films, and celebrity partnerships. Video: Monthly campaign ads, brand website video integrations, and Youtube long form content. Social: Influencer activations, quick responses to trends, and experimental techniques. When someone from a film background makes videos for social, it’s “just” a cutdown of their highly polished commercial. So much missed opportunity. When someone from a social background makes a reel, they break the classic film narrative structure of giving us the end of the story first. Which they rightfully should, the hook is everything. I think this would be at the very least an enlightening experiment, and I feel like the results would show. What do you think? #videoproduction #filmproduction

Over the years, I've variously been the client, the agency exec. and the 'creative'. This beautifully crafted ad is so close to the reality. So often, there are just too many cooks in the kitchen. Having experience of being confounded by dumb-ass interventions, and also being a meddling - but well intentioned - fool, today, my evolved approach is three-fold: 1. Write a clear brief that provides direction but is not prescriptive. 2. Find talented people you admire and trust to execute. 3. Step back and let them do their thing. #marketing #creative #briefs

While this was created to be a parody of advertising, it also holds true for client brands and research. Especially with complex brands, like universities and colleges, clients know their institutions much better than focus groups do. So, why give the power to change the direction of your brand to a group of people paid $50 to talk about it? The desire for "safety" is actually a mandate for "average." And that's no way to stand out. #highered #higheredmarketing #branding #zillionagency

This one is for all my agency and creative friends out there 😂 If there's one thing I've learned as a marketing leader, is to trust the creative process and lean into it instead of trying to force it into something else. In the world of marketing, micromanaging creatives rarely ends well. Trust me, I’ve seen it. For truly stand-out work, we marketers need to do less dictating and more cheering from the sidelines. Let’s hand over the paintbrush, step back, and watch the magic unfold. Remember, creativity isn’t a science experiment we can control. #creative #marketing #agency

Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo are not amused at all! But they are not here to voice it, so I am speaking up for them. That too not as a creative person but as a strategy guy who is trying hard to 'Grow Culturally Sound Brands'. This ad parading as great work, is actually doing dishonor to the legacy of great artists who represent the indomitable human spirit!! The artists being featured in this ad starved, endured epidemics, lived through wars and risked socio-political attacks to 'earn their creative autonomy'. And our 'creative industry' is entitled to it while getting fat on a steady paycheck to pay the EMIs while enjoying AC cabins and comfortable cultural vacations?! Just 👌 There is a reason why these greats will never work in an ad agency. And it is sacrilege to imagine them like that. Read great artists' history. Even when they did commissioned work, it was always reluctantly because it compromised their freedom. They did it to earn money so that they can pump that into their 'real work'. Their courage and fearless human spirit is what made their art great. Not the dependence on a paycheck. Or the creative bargaining for one. Thus, the very premise of this ad is incredulous and merely constructed for manipulation. Another example of our industry's habit of appropriating any cultural phenomena without sensitivity, for an agenda! I like to call it 'Carnivorous Creativity!' And we are swimming so much in it that whoever points it out risks the criticism. But that does not bother me!! I am not waiting for a paycheck and asking for autonomy!! ✌️ Ad agencies has a function which is to build brands via art. philosophy, activism- what have you. Pure art has a function of moving the human spirit without serving any intermediary. Let's acknowledge this as mature professionals and keep it like that. That said there are other ways to express why clients need to be a bit more hands off the final creative product. That intent still holds! And if you really want to do pure art, have the courage to embrace the world of human discomfort and misery like the greats! But please don't wish both in one go. We cannot be creative revolutionaries and paycheck monkeys both. That paradoxical mirage is a just an imaginary cold drink in a hot desert. Cheers! #creativity #culture #art #GoodAdsMatter #brands #strategy #planning #humanspirit #pureart #commercialart #branding #advertising #ads #business #CarnivorousCreativity #pointofview #opinion #unpopularopinion #philosophy #adagency #agencylife Good Ads Matter